


hostbusters

by isadorator



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Fanzine: Up to the Test, Gap Filler, Gen, Worldbuilding, and mendeleiev as the absolute worst, and overcoming it, starring bustier as the best teacher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 02:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isadorator/pseuds/isadorator
Summary: Caline Bustier is a policy nerd trying to make sense of a supernatural world, but her first responsibility is always to her students.(written for the@ml-disaster-relief-zine!!)





	hostbusters

**Author's Note:**

> i had a lot of fun writing this for [the Up to the Test fanzine](https://ml-disaster-relief-zine.tumblr.com/%22)!! mostly because i love awesome ladies, but also because i come from a family of teachers. i know firsthand the effect they can have on their students and their community. to all the teachers out there, you deserve every apple and every hug :D

“ _…of Police and the Minister of the Interior have issued a joint statement that they intend to form a committee to investigate effective tactics and procedures for future anti-supervillian efforts. Many details about yesterday’s attacks by the supervillains Hawk Moth and Stoneheart are still unclear as the police investigation is ongoing, but sources—_ ”

Caline Bustier turned off the radio app on her phone, pulling out her earplugs and yawning as she approached Collège François-Dupont.

Even a detour to the nearest café for a double espresso did not ease the consequences of her late night research. Her collection of articles, essays, and personal notes sat heavy in her messenger bag, slowing her morning walk. Still, it was worth it.

The city may look the same, but Paris had fundamentally changed in the last two days. Superheroes and supervillains were fighting in the streets for the first time in her life, and Caline worried about how quickly their city’s institutions would respond to the new public threat. She hadn’t heard anything from the Ministry of Education or the school itself yet, but she wanted to help.

The United States of America had the largest concentration of supers in the world, far outstripping any other country in terms of the sheer weirdness they faced. According to her research, their society had adjusted accordingly, preparing their children by organizing evacuation drills and school-wide assemblies about safety during supervillain attacks. There was funding in their education budget earmarked specifically for the professional development of teachers and counsellors, training them on how to support and protect their students during stressful attacks.

If the school made an action plan, Caline could help her _own_ class, and maybe...

“Please, just a moment of your time!” someone pleaded, loud enough to derail her train of thought.

“I said no,” came Ivan’s gruff reply.

Looking towards the front of the school, Caline could see there were a few students idling outside. They were all gravitating towards an unhappy Ivan Bruel and… Nadja Chamack, television reporter, accompanied by her own personal camera crew.

This was not good. Caline walked faster, hoping to deescalate the situation.

“I just wanted to ask a few questions—” Nadja began, only to be cut off by Ivan.

“Leave me alone!” he snapped, turning away with a frown. He stopped short when saw Caline standing in his path. “Mlle Bustier?”

“Is there something the matter here?” asked Caline, eyeing them both.

“Yes,” Ivan confirmed at the same time Nadja Chamack said, “Not at all!”

Nadja’s smile inched wider as Ivan’s scowl deepened.

“I’m Nadja Chamack from TVi,” she said, as if she wasn’t the most popular news reporter in Paris. “I was hoping to get a quote from this young man as to why he chose to work with Hawk Moth?”

Caline stiffened. “What?” _Chose?_

Ivan crossed his arms and turned away, refusing to look at anyone. His silent anger was palpable, so much that it scared her, like a vine of fear that crept up Caline’s spine. She recognized the feeling and ripped it out by the roots, furious at her own kneejerk reaction.

She wouldn’t let a supervillain prejudice her against her own students.

“I said I was hoping to understand why Stoneheart agreed to work with Hawk Moth?” Nadja repeated.

Caline gritted her teeth and then forced a smile, the air of frustration around Ivan galvanizing and shaming her at the same time.

“Mme Chamack, no one by the name of Stoneheart goes to this school.”

Ivan turned back, joining Nadja in stunned silence.

“He’s—he’s right _there_ ,” said Nadja as he pointing at Ivan. Both of them looked at Caline, baffled.

“ _He_ is my student, and I assure you that his parents did _not_ name him Stoneheart,” Caline said, her calm fraying around the edges.

Nadja’s grip on her microphone visibly tightened. “I’m just trying to get some context—”

“The _context_ , Mme Chamack, is that you’re harassing a child and implying that he co-operated with the supervillain that mind-controlled him and several other people yesterday, and all while he’s trying to get his education.” Caline forced down her anger and gestured to the sidewalk. “I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the premises.”

It took a moment, but Nadja finally pulled back her microphone and waved at her camera crew. “Let’s go,” she ordered, her tone clipped.

Caline watched them leave, her hand on her hip as they packed film equipment into a van and drove off. Only after they had did she allow herself to look around.

There was a ring of students around her, one of them holding out a phone. Caline felt her insides twist with self-consciousness.

“Go on, you all have class soon,” she said.

Her words were enough to scatter them, running shoes and flats scampering up the steps and into the school. Caline sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to collect herself.

She’d have to keep an eye out for more people like Nadja.

“Thanks,” Ivan said quietly.

Caline turned to speak, but Ivan was already gone, jogging into the school with red-tipped ears.

  


* * *

  


A week later, Caline stared at her own image on the TV in the teacher’s lounge, her horror intensifying by the second.

“— _implying that he co-operated with the supervillain that mind-controlled him and several other people yesterday, and all while he’s trying to get his education_.”

Unable to watch any longer, Caline dropped her head on her desk and groaned.

“ _That viral video was shot by Alya Césaire, the same amateur who provided the footage identifying Ladybug and Chat Noir last week_ ,” Nadja Chamack reported.

“That girl is going to be a handful,” said Mendeleiev. Caline heard papers rustling beside her as Mendeleiev went back to marking quizzes.

“ _I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my behaviour in this video. In the aftermath of an attack, I sought to blame the victims of its perpetrator, including the young boy that was specifically targeted by the ‘akuma’._ ”

“I can’t believe they’re showing it on the news,” Caline moaned, still mortified.

“ _It was wrong of me. I am truly sorry for the harm and distress that my actions_ —”

Mercifully, the TV shut off. Caline lifted her head in time to catch Mendeleiev putting down the remote.

“It’s been all over the internet, what did you expect?” asked Mendeleiev.

“I don’t know!” Caline hissed, frazzled. “Just—not this! I’m lucky M. Damocles hasn’t fired me yet!”

“If you think he’ll fire you for protecting a student and making the school look good, you’re sillier than I thought,” Mendeleiev sniffed, right before scribbling on someone’s failed quiz in red ink. “Now, how far along are you with that akuma action plan or whatever you called it?”

Slowly, Caline smiled and pulled her research out of her desk, glad to have a helping hand.

**Author's Note:**

> ~~i will sail my tiny bustier/mendeleiev ship and no one can stop me~~


End file.
